Strong
by Dreamalone8
Summary: Natasha Romanov/Bruce Banner. Post Age of Ultron, can these two damaged heroes find the answers together?
1. Chapter 1

She had tracked him down once. Careful not to dwell too much on her motives for doing so, she had done the work she'd been so aptly trained to do.

"Hey, Banner."

Dr. Bruce Banner stopped at hearing his name, but did not immediately turn around. The woman speaking didn't seem to care.

"You know you can't hide forever."

Bruce's shoulders slumped. He did know, on some level, that S.H.I.E.L.D. (or what was left of it) could probably always track him down. If that wasn't bad enough, the woman speaking in particular had an uncanny knack of predicting where he would go, what he would do. He let out a breath and turned to face her.

"I'm aware, Agent Romanov. But a guy has to try, right?."

Her face was impassive. He gave a sad smile, turned, and walked away.

Natasha looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She knew what the world saw when they looked at her: Big eyes, full lips, attractive figure. She could use it all perfectly. She may not be a demigod, or have a robot suit, but she could manipulate just about anyone to do just about anything. That was her superpower. Sure, she also was well-versed in martial arts, weaponry, technologies and languages, but it all paled next to her manipulations. Because that's what she really saw when she looked in the mirror. She wasn't sure even she knew who she was under it all…not anymore.

She shook herself out of her reverie, knowing she needed to get to the common room of the Stark Towers living quarters before Tony came looking for her. He seemed to take perverse pleasure in tormenting her recently, and she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of catching her brooding at her reflection.

Leaving her room, she made quick work of the distance to the kitchen/living room area that they all shared. Upon entering, she noticed Jane and Darcy were already there. There was no sign of Thor, Tony or Steve yet.

"What's up ladies?" she asked, flashing a genuine smile. She plopped down easily on the couch next to Darcy.

"We're trying to guess what this meeting is all about," Jane answered with a soft smile. "Mr. Stark has never requested a formal meeting before, I don't think it's his style."

"I told you, he cloned himself. This is the big reveal," Darcy piped in, face deadpan. Natasha had to admit, the girl's particular brand of humor was growing on her.

"And I've told you we're at least six months away from a viable clone," retorted Tony, walking quickly into the room. "But trust me, I've got top men on it. Can't get enough of, well, me."

Darcy snickered and Jane rolled her eyes. Natasha raised an eyebrow in Stark's direction, but said nothing. Pepper chose that moment to walk in, followed by Steve and Thor, who were staring at something on an iPad in Thor's large hands.

"Great, gang's all here. Let's get this over with. I believe I'm close to a breakthrough that could reverse the effects of the gamma radiation on Banner," Tony ignored the various gasps and exclamations and barreled on, "And even though I'm still a huge fan of the not-so-jolly Green Giant, this is what Banner wants. He'll be here any minute. Class dismissed."

The room erupted. Pepper was clearly furious, Jane was rapid-firing questions, Thor was saying something about the frailty of midguardians, and Steve was demanding to know how long this had been in the works. Tony ignored them all, pouring himself a drink from the bar. Natasha quietly stood up and retreated in to the hall, intending to return to her room unnoticed. Waiting for the Q&A wasn't her MO. If she wanted intel on the subject, she'd get it from her own sources later.

"I take it he told them?" The quiet voice from the other end of the hall surprised her, and not just because it was exceedingly rare for her to miss someone like that. As much as she fought it, she had been thinking about that voice since he had left her standing alone in a tunnel somewhere in Canada. Despite the unusual feeling that her stomach was in her throat, she ensured her face was it's usual expressionless mask before turning to Banner.

"Yes, he did." She let the sentence hang, knowing most people would feel compelled to add something to it, keep the information flowing. Rule #1 of interrogation, let them think they're leading the conversation.

But Banner broke that pattern. He simply nodded once, turned and walked back the way he came. Natasha stood stock still until he was out of sight. She really didn't like that he was always walking away, that was usually her dramatic move. After a moment, she started walking in the direction he had disappeared. This entire floor was living space, so she assumed he had returned to whatever quarters he's been assigned. Noticing one of the many conveniently placed touchscreens on the wall immediately to her left, it took virtually no time to override and get into the tower's hospitality system. Finding the information she needed with ease born of a lifetime of training, she proceeded to the rooms containing the most reluctant Avenger.

She wasn't sure what she expected him to say, or what she wanted to say, but something inside her kept telling her this wasn't done, whatever this was between them. And she learned long ago not to ignore her instincts.

"Bruce?" she called softly, knocking on the door.

"Not really in the mood for company." Came the answer from within.

"Please?" Natasha countered, hating how much she wanted him to open the door. Her pride had taken quite a hit when he had left. She had told him things about herself, about what she hoped for the two of them…and he had walked away.

She heard him moving toward the door and tried to brace herself against the emotions she new this might trigger. But she was beginning to realize no amount of time would be enough for that, and then he was pulling open the door, and she was looking into the depths of his sad, tired eyes, and it was like a punch to the gut.

"Hi," she said with a sad smile. She felt like it wasn't enough, like a hug or a kiss was needed after such a long separation…but the months and the miles they'd been apart lay like a chasm between them that she didn't know how to cross.

"Hey," he returned, not able to manage even a sad smile. "Do you want to come in?"

"Do you want me to?" Nat needed him to want her to. She couldn't be that girl, forcing her presence on him if he didn't want her.

He ran his hand through his hair, his face showing the exhaustion he felt. "Don't do this, please. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"Why does it have to be? You're just here to get all de-hulked and then you'll be gone again, right?"

He opened his mouth, but shut it again, clearly not knowing what to say. Which kind of said it all.

This time she got to be the one who walked away.

They'd been close. Aside from Clint, he was probably the best friend she'd ever had. And she knew she must have meant something to him too. The "Other Guy's" response to her told her that much. She'd been the only one who could bring him back. At first, it hadn't meant anything. It was just her job. But as she would sit with him, in the aftermath of what being the Hulk did to him, it was impossible not to be moved by his vulnerability. It had started slow, a pat on the shoulder or draping a blanket over him. And then one day she found herself holding him, his back draped against her front, and it felt perfectly natural.

"Talk to me, please." His voice was almost too quiet to be heard.

And so she had. About nothing at first. Pranks she'd played on Tony, ways she'd shocked Steve's 1940's sensibilities. Then one day she told him about one of the few memories she had with her parents, bits and pieces with them and a dollhouse. After that, the rest just came out. Not all of it, certainly not the worst of it. But the basics of her life in the Red Room, the training, her life with S.H.I.E.L.D., she could tell him that. It was almost easy with him lying vulnerable in her arms.

And so she wasn't surprised when, in the aftermath of that witch's spell, she'd told him about one of the more horrific things that had happened to her. One of the things she tried to pretend didn't matter. And shortly after, he had left. She wasn't willing to think about how much that bothered her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sooo….what's the deal with you and Greenie? You two kids finally gonna get together?"

Natasha seriously considered killing Tony. As in, she knew how many steps were between them and which weapon was easiest to get to. But she settled for rolling her eyes and playing it cool.

"Yeah, and after we save the unicorns from extinction we're going to run off to neverland together," she replied, tone dripping with enough sarcasm to hopefully mask any of the emotions she actually felt on the matter.

"I am a genius, if you recall. So don't try to bullshit a bullshitter, ok? Listen, I'm not saying you have to set up a picket fence and pop out a bunch of green Russian babies. I'm just saying, maybe there's something there worth looking into."

Nat knew this was an opening for her to spill about what was going on with her, with him, with them. And she wanted to. She did. But Tony spared her that by continuing in a less serious manner:

"…and I'd really like to have a couple to double date with besides Jane and Thor. He's pretty, but the conversation pool is pretty shallow, if you catch my drift."

Natasha smiled at Tony, less for the joke than for his attempt to keep her from feeling she had to say anything. She wanted to thank him, but that would in turn make him uncomfortable. So she did the next best thing.

"You know, his hair doesn't just look like that. I found a blowdryer and mousse in his bag on a mission."

Tony's mouth dropped open, and then he punched the air victoriously. "I knew it! I need to find a way to crank up the humidity in the tower…" he wandered out of the room muttering about project "Bad Hair Day."

Nat smiled to herself as she headed back to her room. She cared about these people, and despite her past, she was beginning to believe they really cared about her. Of course, that might change if they really KNEW about her past. Tony probably did, with his hacking skills. And thanks to her big mouth Banner knew, that had turned out great. She didn't think any of the women did, though. Women, in her experience, were less accepting of that kind of thing.

Finding herself back in her room, she realized she didn't know what to do with herself. Much too early to try to sleep, if she wanted to avoid the guilt-laden tossing and turning that tended to accompany her attempts at sleep. A third workout today would likely raise questions. The bottle of Russian vodka Darcy had given her as a gift caught her eye from it's place on the kitchen bar. What about her own girl's night?

Before she could overthink it she grabbed the bottle and the tv remote and settled into the plush chair in front of the screen. Sipping directly from the warm bottle she flipped through the channels, finally coming to rest on Tom Hanks in "Turner and Hooch." Perfect.

Before long, she was halfway through the bottle and tears were streaming down her face as the movie reached it's bittersweet end. She'd never had a dog. Maybe she would get one. Maybe Darcy would watch it when she had to go on missions…

"Natasha? You in there?" Shit. That was Banner's voice on the other side of the door. He may have knocked, the tv was kind of loud.

"Go away, Banner. I'm busy."

"Please? It's important."

With a mighty sigh she propelled herself out of the chair. She stumbled slightly, not drunk per se, but more inebriated that she could ever remember having been before. It wasn't safe for someone in her line of work to dull their senses with drugs or alcohol.

She crossed the room and flung the door open, using it's sturdy edge to stabilize herself. "What is it, Banner?" she asked, letting annoyance seep into her tone.

"We found this communication, it's in Russian, but I think it's also in some sort of code, I was hoping you'd—are you drunk?"

"Not nearly enough. Can this wait until tomorrow?" She didn't even finish before she was trying to close the door. He put a hand on the door to prevent it from being shut in his face, the change in momentum causing Natasha to stumble. Bruce couldn't help smiling at her obvious lack of coordination.

"Even drunk, you're our best bet at figuring this out. Please?" He held out a folded piece of paper.

After a second, she reached out and took the sheet from his hand. She turned and headed back into the living area, leaving the door open behind her.

Bruce stepped awkwardly into her apartment, clearly not sure what to do with him self. As she sat down on the couch, he hovered just inside the door.

"Just shut the door and sit down," she said, his discomfort irritating her.

He did as she asked, perching on the far end of the sofa, like there couldn't be enough space between them. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe she'd just reached her limit, but she felt anger bubbling up at his standoffish behavior.

"You know, I've see you naked. It won't kill you to sit within 3 feet of me."

Bruce's eyes got wide and his mouth opened and closed a few times. He swallowed. Rather than relieve his discomfort, she went straight into interpreting the document.

"They're talking about a shipment of dolls. But you're right, I think there's more to it."

"Such as?"

"Could be anything. Human trafficking comes to mind. I need more to go on."

"Does the name Petyr Cashkov mean anything to you?"

Natasha felt everything freeze. She stopped breathing, yet her pulse pounded in her head and she felt blood rise in her face.

"It's women then. Or girls." She put the paper on the coffee table and picked up her vodka bottle. Taking a swig, she leaned back into the couch.

"How do you know that?" Banner asked. To anyone else, he would appear calm. But Natasha noticed is hands clenched tightly into fists, the knuckles gone white.

"He's a doctor. Or he was," she took another swig. Her buzz had worn off slightly, and she was determined to get it back. "He became known in certain circles for performing unethical procedures."

"What kind of procedures?" Bruce asked quietly, looking at his clenched fists.

"Sterilization."


End file.
